They lived a fringe existence in their early years, but they are now standard parts of the home office: wireless keyboards and mice. The rise of the laptop in particular has helped accelerate the spread of these cordless devices.
Wireless mice and keyboards open up space on the desktop. They are designed to broadcast signals to a receiver, typically attached to the computer’s USB or PS/2 port.
Devices communicating via the Bluetooth standard are typically more expensive than standard wireless devices. That said, many newer computers already offer Bluetooth connectivity and don’t require a separate receiver.
There can be quite a broad price spectrum, however. There are keyboard/mice sets available from $18,, but it’s also quite easy to spend $70 or more, reports Germany’s Computer Bild. The magazine tested a broad range of models.
When making a purchase, the buyer should check that the mouse fits comfortably and ergonomically into the hand. Two navigation buttons and a scroll wheel in the middle are at this point considered standard equipment.
It can also be helpful if the scroll wheel is capable of moving left and right as well. “That makes it easier to flip through a large Excel table, for example,” the magazine says.
One thing to watch for in keyboards is how far the keys need to be pressed before the letter appears. Keys that require a lot of movement before the letter appears can make fingers tired on longer documents.
The keys should also be divided into clear zones, such as a zone for the numerical keypad.
For a long time, the benefits of wireless connectivity were mitigated by performance issues.
The devices were simply unable to deliver data to the computer via the wireless connection as quickly as a standard cable-bound model could. Newer, more refined technology has since been introduced and closed the gap somewhat.
Hardcore gamers,…